Day 17 of the Vancouver Olympics: Closing Ceremony and a Phenomenal Finish!

28 Feb 2010, Sun.
*Updated 1 Mar 2010, 5:00 am.

Let's just get right down to it! How about that hockey game!?! Absolutely Amazing! It was the most exciting and fantastic hockey game I've ever seen! What a thrilling and unbelievable way to close out the games!

It was an action packed match! The US and Canada fought hard! And it was Canada who scored first, 0-1! Then they made it 0-2! But the US fought back and scored 1-2! The Canadian crowd were cheering because the gold was within their grasp! And in the last few seconds of the last period of the game, the US managed to score one more goal to take the game into overtime! 2-2! The crowd is stunned! And when the overtime started, it was anyone's game with both teams fighting hard to control that hockey puck! But Canada managed to score one more goal, winning the game and the gold medal!

It's a fantastic and phenomenal win for the host nation, the home of hockey! This was the gold medal that meant to the most! And they fought long and hard to take it!



The Vancouver Olympics may not have started well for Canada, but Canada built up momentum and they finished gloriously! Congratulations to Canada! And congratulations to the US for a spectacular performance! That was the best game I've ever seen!

And over in the men's 50km cross country ski race, Norway's Petter Northug wins gold right in a photo finish! He sprinted right ahead at the finish line to take the lead! Germany's Axel Teichmann takes silver. And Sweden's Johan Olsson wins the bronze.

I'll be back later to update after the Closing Ceremonies!

*Okay I'm back.

A wonderful Closing Ceremony!

That was a great skit making fun of the post that didn't rise during the Opening Ceremony. I liked how they went ahead and raised it and lit it up in front of a cheering crowd!



And I luved watching the athletes mingle together when they came back into the stadium for the Closing Ceremony.





They broke out the big stars for this one: Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan, Michael Buble, and Nickelback rocked! They brought out Catherine O'Hara and Michael J Fox.















Oh my gawd! It's Capt Kirk!
Princeline Negotiator!
William Shatner was funny! I only wish he sang a spoken word song!


I'm a Rocketman!

I usually don't mind one opera singer, but three is one too many! What was up with the Russian presentation for the Sochi Olympics?

Good gawd! Is Godzilla attacking the city!?! Because the Russians brought out Mothra!



And what's up with the ballet dancers? Dude! Where are your pants!


It's the winter Olympics! Way too cold to be running around in your undies! You might get frostbite on the tender extremities!











I luv the balloons, the dancers, and the all icons that make up the Canadian identity! The Mounties, the hockey players, the moose,



and their love of the beaver!



Fantastic performance Canada! The Maple Leaf Forever, indeed!
















The Vancouver Olympics did not get off to a very good start. The weather was uncooperative, with not enough snow for some of the events. Then hours before the Opening Ceremony, there was the tragic death of the young Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. It's a terrible loss of a young life, and it would forever put a sad shadow over the Vancouver Olympics. I feel for his family and his friends. Then there was the technical malfunction of the fourth post failing to rise with the Olympic cauldron for lighting. But it seemed appropriate somehow--that fallen post was a reminder of the young fallen athlete from Georgia.

But even with all these challenges and hardships, the games went on, because they needed to go on. The Olympics are more than just games and sports. They represent humanity's best hopes and our wishes, our courage to go on when life becomes harsh and painful. And there was drama and joy and heartache every single day! We watched incredible athletes perform amazing feats! We rejoiced in their achievements. We shared their pain when they lost a game or worse, lost a loved one. And we cheered for those amazing athletes who went on to perform their best under the most tragic and challenging times. We admire their courage and we applaud their strength. They remind us that it's not whether we win or lose but that we finish the race. It's a lot like life. It doesn't matter that we fall; what's important is that we get back up and keep on going.

Thank you Canada for being a wonderful host! The Vancouver Olympics were outstanding!



It has been my great joy to be able to watch and share my views on the Vancouver Olympics. And I'd like to thank all of you readers for your comments and support. I've had a lot of fun watching the games; and I hope I've shared some of that fun with you.

It's kind of sad that the Vancouver Olympics actually over. Of course, now I can get enough sleep and resume having a social life. But I look forward to Sochi, Russia 2014!!! And the London Summer Olympics 2012!!! Here we come!!!

Day 16 of the Vancouver Olympics: Undaunted

27 Feb 2010, Sat. Day 16 of the Vancouver Olympics had athletes facing tough opponents and undertaking treacherous challenges in their quest for gold. The strongest athletes were undaunted in the fierce fight for Olympic glory.

It was a great day for the women's 30km cross country ski race! Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk, world champion, won gold in a photo finish race! Then she apologized to silver medal winner, Marit Bjoergen of Norway. Earlier, Kowalcyzk accused Bjoergen of cheating, claiming that Bjoergen's asthma medicine gave her an unfair edge, esp. since Bjoergen has won 3 golds this Olympics! The asthma medicine is actually approved by both the International Ski Federation and by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Catfight!

Now here's a little history: Kowalczyk herself was banned from competition for doping in 2005! And she's worked hard to regain some respect and prove her skills. As the reigning world champion, it sure stung to see a veteran like Marit Bjoergen, who hasn't won any recent world events, have a spectacular Olympics, taking gold in events that favored Kowalcyzk. Marit Bjoergen handled the accusations and the apology with class. Finland's Aino-Kaisa Saarinen wins bronze.

Over in the speed skate team pursuit, Canada takes gold and the US wins silver. In the team pursuit, all three skaters have to cross the finish line to register their time. It was a close race between Canada and the US for gold. The US pulled a surprise victory in the qualifing rounds over Netherlands to take the spot to compete against Canada for gold. The gold winning Canadian team includes Denny Morrison--an alternate in the Torino Olympics--with former short tracker Mathieu Giroux and Lucas Makowsky. The silver medal American team was led by veteran Chad Hedrick and had teenagers Brian Hansen, Trevor Marsicano, and Jonathan Kuck. The Netherlands team--led by Sven Kramer and with Mark Tuitert, Simon Kuipers, and Jan Blokhuijsen--set an Olympic record in winning their bronze match against Norway.

No lead up to a final race has been as exciting as the women's speed skate team pursuit! Yesterday in the quarterfinals, Germany's Anni Friesinger-Postma fell at the finish line and had to flop and flap her skate over the line to trigger the time!



Damn! I'm still drunk from last night!


Move dammit! Move!

Then she buried her head in the ice, thinking that she had cost the team a chance to compete for gold.













But it was a miraculous save, beating out the US by 0.23 of a second!



No spectacular belly flops this time in the race for gold. Germany easily takes gold and Japan wins silver.

The gold winning German team included Daniela Thoms Anschutz, Stephanie Beckert, Anna Friesinger-Postma, and Katrin Mattscherodt. Japan's silver team consisted of Masako Hozumi, Maki Tabata, and Nao Kodaira. And Poland beat out the US for the bronze! Two US skaters, Jennifer Rodriguez and Jilleanne Rookard, crossed the finish line before the Poland team. But third US skater Catherine Raney-Norman was far behind, having run out of energy and exhausted. The Poland team was able to cross all three skaters before Catherine Raney-Norman crossed the line. The bronze Poland team included Katarzyna Bachleda-Curus, Katarzyna Wozniak, and Luiza Zlotkowksa.

Over on the mens parallel giant slalom, Canadian snowboarder Jasey Jay Anderson wins gold! Austria's Benjamin Karl takes silver, and France's Mathieu Bozzetto gets the bronze. It's a fantastic bronze medal win for Bozzetto, who actually came out of retirement to try for an Olympic medal.

Meanwhile in the last alpine skiing event of the Olympics, Italy's Guiliano Razzoli wins gold! It's the first time Italy has won gold in the men's alpine event since the great Alberto Toomba, Toomba la Bomba, won multiple golds in the 1988 Calgary Olympics! The last time an Italian man won a medal in alpine was in 1992, when Toomba won silver. Toomba is actually Guiliano Razzoli's coach and mentor, both are from the same region in Italy. It's amazing Olympic debut for the 25 year old, whose only victory was a World Cup win last year. He wasn't even qualified yet to compete at the Vancouver Olympics last summer, but Toomba and their ski club and fans went ahead and bought tickets to the games. They believed that Razzoli would qualify and make a great show at Vancouver. And their faith was rewarded with spectacular gold medal run by Guiliano Razzoli.

Croatia's Ivica Kostelic wins another silver, adding to his nordic combined silver win earlier in the week. Andre Myhrer of Sweden wins a surprise bronze! And it's a phenomenal bronze win by Myher, who finished 4th at Torino! Yet for the first time in 74 years, since the alpine events debuted in the 1936 winter Olympics, the Austrian men have not won a medal at any of the alpine events!

Speaking of Olympics history, for the first time in 62 years, an American team has won gold in the 4 man bobsled!


In 2002 at Salt Lake, the US won silver and bronze. I have not been this excited by one particular team since the Jamaican bobsled team debuted at the 1988 Calgary Olympics! Using great skills and teamwork, the Americans made great runs on the risky track that has claimed the life of one athlete and led to many crashes. Pilot Steve Holcomb led the gold winning team which included Steve Mesler, Curtis Tomasevicz, and Justin Olsen. Germany's silver team consisted of Andre Lange, Kevin Kuske, Alexander Rodiger, and Martin Putze. The Canadian team won bronze--led by pilot Lyndon Rush with David Bissette, Lascelles Brown, and Chris le Bihan.



I never knew I'd be so happy being crammed into a tight space with 3 other men!




Over at men's curling, Switzerland beat out Sweden for bronze. And in the gold medal match, Canada takes gold, leaving Norway the silver. Canada's men's curling team bring the host nation its 13th gold, the most of any nation at the Vancouver Olympics so far. But it's the Norwegian curling team who once again win the spotlight for being the best dressed athletes at the Olympics! Take note Vera Wang! No feathers or jeweled snakes!


Supermodel! Work!



Now turn to the left!
Work!


















Now turn to the right!
Work!


















Sashay! Chante!



Chante! Chante! Chante!

When it comes to looking good, no one does it better than the Norwegian curling team!

Finally, in the most exciting match of the evening, Finland and Slovakia battled it out for bronze! I have to admit, I was rooting for Slovakia, the underdog who came into these games and bitch slapped some of the toughest teams in the Olympics! They proved that Russia was beatable. The barely let the Canadians slide by in the semifinals. Had they had a little more time, who knows who could've been playing the US on Sunday for gold!

And they fought fiercely! Slovakia was able to score some goals and lead the game 3 to 1! But Finland fought back hard and closed the gap! And in the last few minutes of the game, Finland rallied hard and was able to score 5-3, winning the game! Still, it's the best finish for Slovakia, fourth this Olympics. I admire their moxie for going all out and rattling the best teams out there! The Finns also get kudos for a spectacular comeback after a rough experience this Olympics.

And the biggest game of all starts in a few hours, when Canada faces off with the US for gold! What a great way to close out the Olympics! And you better believe that North America is shutting down to watch the game live and root for their teams! I can't wait to watch it all go down!

Day 15 of Vancouver Olympics: Dash and Crash

26 Feb 2010, Fri. Day 15 of the Vancouver Olympics had athletes in the mad dash for gold! Some would win, and others would crash in the pursuit.

In a thrilling women's curling match between Canada and Sweden, the game had to go into an extra end before defending Torino gold medalists Sweden wins the match 7-6! Canada takes silver. And world champions China takes bronze.

Meanwhile in the men's 4x7.5km biatlon relay, Norway wins gold; Austria takes silver; and Russia wins bronze. And Norwegian legend Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, nicknamed the Biathlon King, finally wins gold--his 6th in his Olympic career-1 in 1998 Nagano, 4 in 2002 Salt Lake. He's won a bronze in Torino. He's all ready won silver earlier in the Vancouver Olympics in the 20km event. This Norwegian victory was made possible by the accurate shooting and fast skiing of the entire team, which consisted of Halvard Hanevold, Emil Hegle Svendsen, and Tarjei Boe.



In the women's slalom, Maria Reisch of Germany wins gold, while her sister Susanne and friend, US skier Lindsey Vonn, crashed on the course. Maria Reisch has won gold all ready in the super combined event. It was a tough event, sking downhill around poles while the snow beat down hard. Marlies Schild of Austria takes silver. It's a fantastic silver win by Marlies Schild, who recovered from terrible accident in 2008 that resulted in an open compond fracture on her leg. She had multiple surgeries and took over a year to recover, returning to compete only in November of last year. Sarka Zahrobska gets the Czech Republic a bronze, the first alpine medal for that country.

Over in the women's giant parallel slalom, where they snowboard race around obstacles in two runs, Netherlands' Nicolien Sauerbreij survives horrible weather and a tough course to win gold! Russia's Ekaterina Ilyukhina was stunned to win the silver, as she was sure that the wet snow conditions had eliminated any chance of her performance getting a medal. Marion Kreiner of Austria takes the bronze.

But the real winners have to be the crowd who tracked up the mountain, then braved the wet snow and rain conditions to cheer the women as they competed in bad weather.



And in the exciting and furious sport of short track, more crashes and falls lead to drama and thrills!


Dude! Get your ass out of my face!

American Apolo Ohno was disqualified in the 500m short track final! Two other competitors crashed!











Canada's Charles Hamelin wins gold! South Korea's Si-Bak Sung, stumbles and falls to silver after Apolo Ohno's disqualification.



And Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay gets bumped up to bronze after falling.

And in the women's 1000m finals, China's Wang Meng wins her 3rd gold of the Vancouver games! American Katherine Reutter gets silver after holding off South Korea's Park Seung-hi, who claims bronze.

And in the most confounding and furious race that is men's 5000m relay, there was so much confusion and chaos as multiple skaters took turns pushing each other's butt for the long race!


Push it real good!

China and Korea battled for lead, Canada was in third. France was 4th and US was in 5th.



And as the crazy exchanges kept going, Canada pulls ahead of the pack, leaving South Korea and China to battle it out for 2nd and 3rd! The US manages to pull up to forth, leaving France behind!

And in the final lap of the exciting race, China slips as the US pulls ahead to 3rd! Canada wins the race, South Korea takes silver with US right on them for bronze!



A fantastic end to a crazy and thrilling race!

Sure Canada may have won the race, but they should've been disqualified for their horrific style!



No, your eyes are not deceiving you! That is a French Canadian redhead with dreadlocks!

And finally in the preliminary event that had Canada holding its collective breath til the end. Canadian men barely scraped by the Slovakians in the semifinal spot, going on to fight the US in the gold medal hockey match! This is the game all of North America will be watching! And I can't wait to see it!

And lastly, I'd like to focus on why the Olympics are wonderful. It's not just about athletes winning medals; it's about champions bringing hope and doing positive things for the world. Thanks to MJ for this article on Clara Hughes, the greatest Olympian ever! Canadian Clara Hughes, a cyclist and speed skater, is the only person in Olympic history to win multiple medals in both summer and winter Olympics.

After winning gold in Torino, she was inspired by US speed skater Joey Cheek, who donated his bonus gold and silver medal winnings to the charity, Right to Play. This organization was founded by Norwegian and Olympics champion speed skater Johann Olav Koss. The goal is to use sport and play to aid the development of children and youth in underprivileged areas around the world. At the time, Canada did not give bonuses for medal winners. So Clara Hughes took money out of her own bank account, and donated $10,000 to the foundation, because she believed in the cause.

And this Olympics, she does it again. Clara Hughes donated her $10,000 bronze medal bonus to the Take A Hike foundation, to help troubled youths recovering from addiction to take outdoor challenges to learn skills and build up self esteem. She was inspired to do something about the poverty and drug addiction that plagued Vancouver after she made a wrong turn on her way to training two years ago. She never forgot the sight of those people suffering, impoverished and in despair in the heart of one of Canada's leading cities. Clara Hughes believes that sports saved her life, as she herself was a troubled youth. And with her generous donations, she continues to give out hope and new opportunities for troubled youths to have a chance at a better life, to find a way to be successful amid all the challenges they face.

Clara Hughes is a perfect example of why the Olympics is so great. Even with all the scandals and all the troubles that often plague the Olympics, there are always heroes like Clara Hughes who embody the true Olympic spirit. She remind us that true Olympic champions represent not only our dreams, but our hopes and wishes for a better future. And if one human being can do something positive to help others, imagine what two or more can do to change the world.

Day 14 of the Vancouver Olympics: All or Nothing

25 Feb 2010, Thurs. Day 14 of the Vancouver Olympics had athletes giving their all in the quest for gold!

In the women's Giant slalom, where the skiers race downhill while going around gates, there was a surprise upset! Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg made her Olympic debut, and it's golden! She's never won any of the major skiing events, and with her fantastic combined times from her run the day before and today, she takes the gold! Even she was surprised at her win. Slovenia's Tina Maze takes another silver to add to her super G silver earlier in the week. And Austria's Elisabeth Goergl takes another bronze, her first one was in the downhill skiing. Don't feel bad for Georgl! Bronze is wonderful! She could've gotten nothing!

Over on the women's 4x5km cross country relay, Norway takes the gold. Germany wins silver, and Finland, the bronze. And it's a great Olympics for Sweden's Marit Bjoergen, who has won 3 golds (sprint, pursuit, and relay) and a bronze (10km freestyle)! A respected veteran of the sport, her spectacular performance surprised a lot of people, esp. since she is currently ranked 6th in world! She becomes the first athlete to win 3 golds at the Vancouver Olympics.

And it's a great day for Americans in the Nordic combined event, where they combine the large hill ski jump and a 10km cross country ski race. American Bill Demong takes gold, and teammate, Johnny Spillane takes silver! Austria's Bernhard Gruber claims the bronze. It's a great bronze win by Bernhard Gruber, esp. since he wasn't even considered a top athlete in the individual event! But he proved his worth, adding to his gold win the team relay event.

But it's a spectacular Olympics for the Americans, esp. since the cross country ski events are often dominated by Scandinavians and Western Europeans! And you better believe the Nordic countries are upset after their poor performance! Americans have won 4/9 medals in the events, making them the surprise dominant force at the Vancouver Olympics! It's an amazing victory for the Americans, as they aren't even considered among the best in the sport! And it was a combination of great ski jumps and tactics in the ski race that helped the Americans win gold and silver in the event, adding to the team relay silver, and Johnny Spillane's silver in the normal hill event. It's a sweet victory for the American athletes, as they've never won an Olympic medal in the sport, much less get a gold! It's a fantastic performance all around!

Then we come to women's hockey! The game had to go into overtime as Finland takes the bronze in a fierce all out battle with Sweden.


Bitch! What did you say about my pickled herring?

And in the epic battle for gold, Canada takes their 3rd straight Olympic gold in the event. The US women take silver.

Over on the men's aerials, it was a high flying battle for gold as some of the medal favorites crashed and other competitors soared to great heights!

Zhongging Liu of China puts on a brilliant jump to bronze.
























And American Jeret Peterson pulls of his signature hurricane move. This was a very risky move, one that cost him the bronze in Torino. But Jeret Peterson believes in going big or going home! All or nothing! Would the risk pay off or would he pay dearly?


Here I am! Rock you like a hurricane!

This time, he pulled it off! He flies to silver!

And Alexei Grishin of Belarus soars spectacularly to gold, winning with a clean and clear display of fantastic aerial acrobatics.
















Finally, we come to the most dazzling and graceful sport of the winter Olympics: Women's figure skating. These are the people who keep the bedazzler industry in business. These are the strongest competitors to ever skate the Olympic ice. Some of them are better than the men! And every one of these athletes had great expectations to live up to and tremendous pressure to bear under the watchful eyes of the world.

And as beautiful and clean the American women skated, there was no way they were going to end up on the podium. At least, not against the best in the world!

And Miki Ando of Japan is the first to throw down the gauntlet! A wild and powerful performer, she can either outshine the competition with her fiery skating or she could burn out and fall apart on the ice. Miki Ando is an incredible athletic skater. She had more jumps than any other female skater. And her performance tonight was the most powerful ever, doing an amazing number of jumps and executing them perfectly.


It was a strong athletic performance, stronger than any of the other skaters! But she didn't have the artistic flow and transitional elements the other strong women had. And when she was done, she was in the lead, with the other three top competitors to follow.

Kim Yu Na of South Korea skated next, and she displayed why she was the best skater in the world. She was the perfect balance of athletic strength and grace, beautiful, strong, mesmerizing! Her long program, the free skate, is often weak compared to her short program. But tonight, she was perfection on ice! She danced, she glided, she flew effortlessly, effervescent and ephemeral!



And when she was done, she broke the record by scoring the highest points ever under the new judging system! The gold was all but hers.

And the only person with a slight chance of even reaching the heights soared by Kim Yu Na was Japan's Mao Asada. Mao Asada has made Olympic and international skating history as the only woman to ever successful land a triple axel in a program. This is the tough jump that knocked a lot of the top men out on their butts in the men's competition. But Mao Asada went further and included two triple axle jumps in her free skate, becoming the first woman to ever land 3 triple axels in one competition! And she had amazing transitions and spins, artistry that blended beautiful movements with unique flair.

She needed to skate a perfect program to even stand a chance at getting gold. But she faltered with two minor mistakes, and that caused her to land in silver instead. But would she hold on with one more powerful skater left to go?

And all eyes were on Canada's Joannie Rochette as she took the ice. She skated a beautiful performance, exhibiting her strength and her artistry, doing powerful jumps and wonderful movements across the ice. She made one mistake. But it was a phenomenal performance from a brave athlete who's mother passed away just a few days ago. But make no mistake, she is one of the best skaters in the world!

And in the end, Kim Yu Na takes the gold by reaching heights far above those of her competition. Kim Yu Na was magical and magnificent! Mao Asada secures the silver, and Joannie Rochette glides to bronze. Canadian Brian Orser, former world champion and two time Olympic silver medalist, and choreographer David Wilson have done an extraordinary feat of guiding Kim Yu Na to the top of the skating world. It was an extraordinary night of figure skating, one sure to go down in Olympic history.

But the most delightful skater of the night for me was American Mirai Nagasu. This is her first world competition! And she performed spectacularly, with the most graceful spirals and the fastest, most marvelous spins! She managed to move from 6th place to 4th! She is on the rise, starting her ascent to greatness. It's a fantastic world debut for this young skater. And what a wondeful way to end another great day at the Olympics!

Day 13 of the Vancouver Olympics: Fortune and Favor

24 Feb 2010, Wed. Day 13 of the Vancouver Olympics was full of dramatic action as athletes competed for gold and glory. Some came in heavily favored to win, only to have their fortunes changed unexpectedly!

Exciting news in the men's 4x10km cross country relay! Sweden wins gold, for the first time since 1988! Norway takes silver, and the Czech Republic takes bronze. The Norwegians were a heavy favorite for gold in the race, but this Olympics, the Swedes came out and took a huge lead in the final leg of the race, guaranteeing the gold.

The lead was so huge, that Sweden's Marcus Hellner stopped by the crowd to pick up a Swedish flag and then continued on to cross the finish line, all while twirling his flag as if he were in a parade instead of a race!

And it was Johan Olsson, who pushed the lead far ahead in the second leg of the relay, giving the Swedes the huge lead that let anchor Marcus Hellner stop and smell the roses. With Andre Soedergren and Daniel Richardsson, the Swiss take first place in a thrilling relay race.



In the women's 5000m speed skate, Czech Republic's Martina Sablikova takes another gold, adding to her 3000m gold and surprise 1500m bronze. Stephanie Beckert of Germany takes silver, and Canada's Clara Hughes wins the bronze.

It's a sweet bronze win for Clara Hughes, at 37, she is one of the oldest competitors on the ice. This was her last Olympics. It is an extraordinary swan song for the legendary Clara Hughes, who is one of only four people to have ever won both summer and winter Olympic medals! And she's the only one in Olympic history to have multiple medals in summer and winter Olympics! She won 2 cycling bronzes in the 1996 Atlanta summer Olympics, a bronze in 5000m speed skating in the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, gold and silver in the 2006 Torino Olympics. Truly, she is an Olympic legend, and what a brilliant end to an amazing career!

And in the wild and unpredictable sport of short track, the women's 3000m relay was full of excitement and stunning action! South Korea, going for their 3rd Olympic gold in the event, was up against China and Canada. The US made the fourth team in competition, but they were the weakest, and they were left far behind while South Korea and China battled it out for first! Canada was assured the bronze.



And in the final laps of the race, South Korea's Kim Min-jung bumped China's Sun Linlin, causing her to stumble and lose momentum.


Hey! Get your hand off my boobie!

South Korea raced ahead to finish first and they grabbed their flag and did victory laps around the ice! China and Canada also did victory laps for their medals while the US finished so far behind.

But wait! Something was up! They were taking too long to put up the final standings. The refs were talking with the officials. Tension was in the air. The noise died down as the official walked over to China's team and coach. The whole arena was watching. What was going on? Then the the Chinese team screamed and jumped in the air! It was official! South Korea was disqualified!




Oh, the shock! You better believe South Korea is up in arms over this! China moves up to gold! Canada takes the silver, and the US got lucky, bumped up to bronze!



That's right! Oh, the shame! Pink shoes and gold shoes with blue spandex? You better hide your faces!

Oh, how fortunes and fates change in the fickle and fierce sport of short track speed skating!

And more excitement in women's bobsled! Some of the gold medal favorites crashed hard on the track! Luckily, no serious injuries, and the athletes were able to walk on their own power. In the end, it was a 1-2 finish for the host nation! Canadian pair Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse win gold, and their teammates, Canadians Helen Upperton and Shelly-Ann Brown, get the silver!



Americans Erin Pac and Elana Meyers take the bronze. It's an incredible surprise bronze for the Americans, as they're not even considered the top American team! They've only been together for 3 years. Elana Meyers originally trained to be in softball, hoping to make it to the Olympics. But since the IOC removed softball from the summer Olympics after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Meyers decided to try the bobsled. And she teamed up with Erin Pac, who had just transitioned from being brakeman to pilot and was searching for a partner. It's an amazing victory for the rookies, winning a medal in the event!

Finally, big news in the women's aerials. This high flying sport is a combination between ski jumping and trampoline and diving, as athletes ski off a ramp, fly in the air, do amazing flips and turns high in the air before landing on the snow! It's a dazzling display of skill and beauty, full of danger with a high risk of catastrophic crashes!




Medal faves China, who are coached by Canadian Dustin Wilson, a former Australian aerials head coach, did very well. They've dominated the international competitions in recent years.

XinXin Guo of China jumps to bronze!




















And China's Nina Li flies to silver, repeating her silver win at Torino.


China's gold medal fave, Mengtao Xu, was the last to ski to secure the gold. And she took off, reaching for the skies and the gold medal!

But she landed horribly and crashed! In an instant, she was knocked out of the podium!

























And it was a flying Kangaroo, Lydia Lassila, of Australia who soars to gold!



It's an amazing performance from Lassila, and a wonderful win for Australia, which continues to be the first and only southern hemisphere nation to medal at the winter Olympics! It's a fantastic end to a great day of competition. And it just goes to show that anything can happen in the Olympics, no one is guaranteed a medal, no matter how heavily favored, fortunes can change in an instant.